Rowling to the rescue

J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, has come to the rescue of a group of conservationists by buying them 1,100 acres. Rowling has donated almost £200,000 ($239,303.52) to help the local community buy land beside the Schiehallion mountain in Perthshire.

The Highland Perthshire Community Land Trust began saving for a community buyout three years ago and managed to raise between £5,000-£10,000 ($8,593.92-$17,187.85) before an anonymous backer emerged to provide about 95 per cent of the £200,000 needed. The Trust intends to recreate the old Caledonian Forest that once grew across the Highlands before most of it was destroyed by man. In addition to the replanting and regeneration scheme, plans for the land include a children's education centre.

Robin Hall, a spokesman for the trust, said:

"It was amazing. We are all agog. She is a very generous donor and has given money to all sorts of charities."